A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit against the company that owned the mine where an explosion killed 29 miners last April. It was the worst mine accident in recent U.S. history.
Alpha Natural Resources, which acquired Massey Energy in January 2011, will pay $210 million to compensate families, pay fines to the government and make updates to safety features. This settlement is in addition t o several earlier wrongful death settlements involving 18 of the mine victims' families. A federal investigation of the incident found that the company violated 369 workplace safety regulations, 12 of which contributed to the April 2010 accident.
Out of the $210 million, families will receive $46.5 million, or $1.5 million per family. Alpha Natural Resources will pay $35 million in fines and the remaining $128 million will be spent on upgrades to mine safety, safety research and improved safety training.
Now, Senator Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has authored a bill that would provide more protections to miners. The Robert C. Byrd Mine and Workplace Safety and Health Act would establish protocol to shut down problem mines, increase penalties for safety violations and offer more protections to whistleblowers. The bill increases criminal penalties for employers who willfully violate safety regulations and subsequently cause an employee injury or death. Penalties would further increase for multiple willful violations.
Additionally, the bill would allow families of mine victims to nominate someone to represent their loved one in the investigation of a mine incident and prohibit mine incident victims to be represented by the same lawyers the mine company employs. It would also create an electronic database of all mine safety data that would be available to the public.
Hopefully, these settlement awards and potential legislative changes will help bring closure to the families of the 29 miners lost in the Massey mine accident. If you or a loved one work for a mining company and suspect it is in violation of safety or workplace regulations, please contact an experienced personal injury attorney.
